Lycan
Lycans are a second breed of Werewolves. Once normal humans who were infected by the first born Lycan or another of his victims, they are unlike the first breed in retaining their human intelligence and personalities while transformed and taking human form. In this article, "Werewolf" will be used to refer to both Werewolves and Lycans collectively (except where otherwise noted), for when both generations need mentioning at the same time. Notable Features In the ''Underworld'' franchise, Lycans and Werewolves are biologically immortal transgenics, as opposed to supernaturally immortal demons of pop culture. However, as in pop culture, the Lycans in the Underworld franchise are also carnivores, meaning that they feed on meat, particularly raw, bloody meat. They have even been shown to be somewhat cannibalistic, as they will feed off of humans and Vampires. In the novelizations, the Lycans are hotblooded and have high body temperatures. The novelizations also state that Lycans, in their Werewolf form, are colorblind. In all aspects of the Underworld franchise, Lycans are depicted as being highly allergic to silver. In the novelization of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, their eyes are also shown to be sensitive to any glare of light off of a silver surface. In the films, Lycans' eyes are shown to change into a cloudy deep blue when they are partially transformed. In the novelizations, their eyes are described as changing into a solid cobalt blue. In Underworld: Endless War, they are shown to turn a feral yellow. In Underworld: Awakening, they are all shown with solid black eyes, similar to the Hybrid forms of Michael Corvin and Marcus Corvinus. This mave have been either a production goof, or these individuals had been given some of Antigen's so-called 'antidote'. Powers & Abilities Lycans display inhuman abilities of physical strength, speed, reflexes, endurance and agility. These traits seem to apply to Lycans even when in human form, as Lucian was seen to be able to catch up to a moving car, and subsequently survive being hit by it head on without being seriously injured. It is very likely that they can enter a state of hibernation and survive without food or water for centuries. They possess enhanced senses of smell, hearing and sight that are superior even to those of wolves, not just humans, and are also able to sense Vampires in close proximity to themselves. It should be noted that when in their Werewolf forms they are stronger than when in human form, able to break through solid concrete walls, and seem to be stronger than the Vampires, as every hand-to-hand confrontation between the two races under normal circumstances has ended with a Lycan victory, the one exception being the Vampire Elder Viktor. Lycans can also use their claws and strength to scale sheer surfaces, having been seen to crawl along walls at great speed in pursuit of prey. They also possess the ability to land on their feet when falling from above, as evidenced by both Lucian and Michael Corvin. Lycans also possess superb physical resilience and remarkable regenerative abilities: both Lucian and Raze are wounded by silver bullets and Selene's throwing stars respectively, yet they bear no marks or scars when they reappear later. Their recovery abilities are hampered by the presence of silver in their bodies. However, to older Lycans, the silver is rarely fatal. Lucian displayed the ability to force Selene's silver bullets out of his body through muscle strength, although it is mentioned in the first film that the silver is fatal if it penetrates the internal organs. Silver is the Lycans' only weakness, as they seem to be violently allergic to it. A new variation on this is the use of silver nitrate bullets to inject the silver directly into a Lycan's bloodstream. In Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, a wild Werewolf died after taking two shruikens with silver blades from Sonja in the chest, whereas Raze not only survived four silver shruikens thrown by Selene but continued to walk in his human form with the shruikens stuck in his chest for quite sometime in Underworld. This may imply that Lycans possess greater resilence and healing abilities against silver than their Werewolf predecessors. This could be due to more exposure and acquired resistance to silver. They can go out during the daylight but they seem to be stonger during the night, especially as they can only transform during the full moon until they become strong enough to transform at will. Although originally Lycans could only transform at the full moon, it is also explained that the older a Lycan becomes in age, the more control they can exert over their transformation, to the point that they can change at will, possessing full mental control of their wolf form. In their wolf form, Lycans also have access to powerful jaws and razor-sharp fangs and claws, making them deadly close-quarters combatants. Generations Lucian, First of a New Breed Lucian was born a slave to an unknown captive Werewolf. Born in human form, Lucian's Vampire owner Viktor initially intended to slay the infant, but decided against it when he saw in Lucian the possibility of creating a new race of slaves - a new breed of Werewolf (Lycans), and raised him as his own personal "pet". Viktor slew Lucian's mother and had him branded with Viktor's mark. Lucian rose to become the Lycan ruler under Viktor's command. Though most likely physically weaker than first generation Werewolves, Lucian possesses abilities superior to any descended from himself and can transform at will (unlike William Corvinus and his first generation of Werewolves). Although he used his Werewolf form to great extent in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, unlike the other Lycans seen in Underworld, Lucian never transforms while engaged in combat, instead using such technology as wrist-mounted blades to engage his enemies. Despite this, by the time of Underworld he is shown to possess an ability never seen in other Lycans: when he is shot with silver bullets, he is able to expel them from his body by forcing the transformation. He first expelled silver from his body after Viktor killed Sonja; in a rage, Lucian expelled silver arrows that were meant to prevent his transformation to lupine form. Although other Lycans died immediately after being shot with the silver nitrate rounds, which released fatal amounts of silver directly into a Lycan's blood stream, Lucian survived for several minutes, long enough to convince Selene to infect Michael Corvin. Theoretically, Lucian had developed a resistance to silver over the centuries due to living through greater exposure than his compatriots, similar to how humans can develop a tolerence to arsenic over time. Lucian, like William, fits into neither the first nor second generation of Werewolves. But given that he is a unique specimen, he doesn't warrant his own generation because he is the only known one to have lived. It is theorized that Lucian was born human and is able to transform back to human form because his mother was already pregnant with him when she was turned, so he did not inherit the full Werewolf gene, only half. 2nd Generation: Lycans These are modern Werewolves descended from Lucian. Being born human and less animalistic than the first generation, Viktor forced Lucian to propagate more of this type. The form of virus carried by Lucian was spread to humans, creating a large group of Lycans capable of taking both human and wolfen form. Due to their scent, first generation Werewolves seem to recognize them as their kin rather than human beings, even when in human form. They are able to transform back to their human forms, and change into Werewolf forms when the moon is full. Those who have been Lycans for several centuries have learned to transform at will regardless of the moon as they have learned to channel their rage. They resemble first generation Werewolves, but their faces are shorter, and the least wolf-like in appearance. They also have far less fur than the earlier Werewolves - they are mostly hairless, aside from a thin mane of fur running down the center of their backs, with the exception of Lucian who had the same amount of fur that first generation Werewolves had. Lower Lycans: This type of Lycan is a different class rather than a different generation or breed. They appear in Underworld: Awakening. They are notably skinnier than their predecessors due to continuous starvation. Unlike other Lycans and 1st generation Werewolves, these Lycans appear completely hairless in their Werewolf forms. Despite their apparent physical deterioration, they are shown leaping, running fast and agile enough to catch a moving van. Notable Lycans * Lucian - Alpha Lycan and enemy of the Vampires. * Raze - Beta Lycan and Lucian's right hand man. * Quint Lane - A Lycan-Corvinus Strain Hybrid who helped his father with making the humans focus on Vampires after the first purge. * Singe - Lycan scientist. * Michael Corvin - Bitten by Lucian, then became a Lycan-Vampire Hybrid after being bitten by Selene, never actually completed his transformation into a Lycan. * Trix - One of Lucian's Lieutenants. * Pierce - One of Lucian's Lieutenants. * Taylor - One of Lucian's Lieutenants. * Xristo - A former Lycan slave who fought with Lucian. * Sabas - A former Lycan slave who fought with Lucian. * Gyorg - A Lycan slave at the time of Lucian's escape. * Thracius - A Lycan slave at the time of Lucian's escape. Trivia * The word "Lycan" is derived from the word "Lycanthrope", meaning someone who suffers from Lycanthropy; "the professed ability or power of a human being to transform into a wolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics". * Generation-wise, the further one is from William, the source, (via horizontal gene transfer), the weaker a Lycanthrope's Lycanthropy strain becomes. The same is true of Vampires. It was because of this that Lucian was was born in human form, and later generations of Werewolves gave rise to Lycans. * In contrast to Lycans who are turned, (having been once human), Lycans who are born, (Lycans who become Lycans via vertical gene transfer, and are refured to as "Pure-Borns"), rather than becoming weaker with every generation, actually inherit sum-total of the strengths of the parents Lycanthropy strain, and thus become stronger generation-wise. The same is true of Vampires. * In all incarnations of the franchise, a group of Lycans is called a "Pack", or a "Clan". The Leader of a Lycan Pack or Clan is called a "Alpha". * In the first three movies, the Lycans were actors in animated costumes. In Awakening, most of the Lycan scenes are entirely computer-generated. Gallery 1 ge.JPG|A first generation Lycan. 1gera.JPG|Close-up of a Lycan. lycans.jpg|Concept art of a Lycan. Drygoi mir3.jpg|Quint Lane's Lycan form. Super.jpg|A Lycan seen in Underworld: Awakening. l.jpg|The Awakening Lycan. Dkinny.jpg|Weakened Lycans. movie_217-1.jpg|Lycan transformation. Lycan.jpg|A Lycan. 2Lycans.jpg|Two Lycans in Underworld: Evolution. razelycanform.jpg|Raze, in his Lycan form. lowlycan.jpg|Low Lycans. Category:Species